Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Wish You Were Here

Well there's nothing more tiring than an overly detailed account of a delightful vacation in exotic locales that you weren't on, so I'll make it snappy.

I have to take a moment to tip my hat to Emporer Justinian. The heart-flopping moments where your chest drops to your toes for sheer awe and mouth-gaping wonder are few and far in this life, but stepping through the inner narthex to catch your first glimpse inside the Hagia Sophia (or the Aya Sofia as we're calling it these days) is surely one of them. Lives up to the billing, ladies and gentleman, lives up to the billing.

So that's a heckuva start. Then the finest baklava you've ever had (and you've had, let's be clear, quite a lot), days and days chasing glimpses of glorious Ottoman remnants, if not the best then definitely one of the top five dinners you've ever had, lazy afternoons boating up the Bosphorus, lunchtime in a small fishing village where the fresh catch is brought nearly still flopping, strolling down clean and easy streets between the carpet-selling barkers arm-in-arm with the best of company, and let's just chalk it up to a fine time all around.